From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of notable persons who were born, or who have lived a significant part of their lives, in
Erie, Pennsylvania .
Richard Anuszkiewicz , founder and foremost artist of
Op Art movement
Moses Billings , early American portrait painter
Marc Brown , children's book author and illustrator, creator of the
Arthur book series
John Silk Deckard , painter, printmaker, sculptor
David Greenberger , artist
Thom Hatch , author and novelist who specializes in the history of the American West, the American Civil War, and the Plains Indian Wars
Eugene Iverd , illustrator and teacher
Ron Larson , author of several dozen mathematics textbooks
Leon Ray Livingston , known as "King of the Hobos"
Ruth Eleanor Newton , illustrator and designer
Joseph Plavcan , painter and teacher
Chuck Rosenthal , author
Belle Silveira , artist known for her pencil portraits
Ida M. Tarbell , author, journalist, "
muckraker "
John Totleben , comic book illustrator, known for covers of DC Comics'
Swamp Thing
Michael J. Varhola , author
Charles Erskine Scott Wood , author and leading civil liberties advocate, best known for "
Heavenly Discourse "
Sig Andrusking , professional football player
Art Baker , professional football player,
Buffalo Bills ,
All-American and NCAA
National Championship winner in both football and wrestling, pioneering African-American athlete
Bruce Baumgartner , heavyweight Olympic wrestler, most decorated American wrestler of all time, member of
National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Lou Bierbauer , 19th-century
Major League Baseball player
Dana Bible , former American football coach
Fred Biletnikoff , professional football player,
Oakland Raiders ,
Super Bowl MVP ,
Pro Football Hall of Fame
James Carr , youngest-ever American Olympic wrestler, member of
National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Nate Carr , Olympic wrestler (bronze medalist in 1988), three-time NCAA champion at
Iowa State University , member of
National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Rick Chartraw , professional ice hockey player,
Montreal Canadiens
James Conner , professional football player,
Arizona Cardinals
Clifton Crosby , professional football player,
Indianapolis Colts
Ed Cushman , professional baseball player,
Buffalo Bisons ,
Milwaukee Brewers ,
Philadelphia Athletics ,
New York Metropolitans ,
Pittsburgh Pirates , and
Toledo Maumees
Dell Darling , professional baseball player,
Buffalo Bisons ,
Chicago White Stockings , and
St. Louis Browns
Tim Federowicz , professional baseball player,
Los Angeles Dodgers
Bill Finneran , early professional baseball umpire
George Flint , professional football player,
Buffalo Bills
Fernando Frye , college football player
Eric Hicks , professional football player,
Kansas City Chiefs
Essie Hollis , professional basketball player,
Detroit Pistons
Sam Jethroe ,
Negro leagues and
Major League baseball player from 1938 to 1966
Jovon Johnson , professional football player,
Ottawa Redblacks ,
CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award
Caryn Kadavy , figure skater, 1987 World Bronze Medalist, 1988 Olympian
Eddie Klep , professional baseball player, first white American to play in the
Negro leagues
Jack Laraway , professional football player,
Buffalo Bills ,
Houston Oilers
Tom Lawless , professional baseball player,
St. Louis Cardinals ,
Toronto Blue Jays , and
Montreal Expos
Bob Learn, Jr. , professional bowler, 1999
U.S. Open champion who also rolled the PBA's 10th televised
300 game
Frank Liebel , professional
football
defensive back for
NFL's
New York Giants and
Chicago Bears
Matt Lynch , as of 2024 the only
out gay head coach in college men's basketball
[1]
Kayla McBride , professional basketball player,
Minnesota Lynx , first-team
All-American ,
Notre Dame
Mike McCoy , professional football player,
Green Bay Packers , unanimous first-team All-American for
Notre Dame and 1969
Heisman Trophy candidate
Curt Miller ,
WNBA professional basketball coach
Mike Morrison , professional baseball player,
Cleveland Spiders ,
Syracuse Stars and
Baltimore Orioles
Peter Nyari , professional baseball and Olympic athlete
Bob Raudman , professional baseball player
Bob Sanders , professional football player, Indianapolis Colts
Brian Stablein , professional football player, Indianapolis Colts and
Detroit Lions
Mark Stepnoski , professional football player,
Dallas Cowboys and
Houston/Tennessee Oilers
Woody Thompson , professional football player,
Atlanta Falcons
Blidi Wreh-Wilson , professional football player,
Tennessee Titans and
Atlanta Falcons
Henry Alden Clark , U.S. Congressman
Edward M. Baker , investment broker
Judah Colt , pioneer
Kathy Dahlkemper , U.S. Congresswoman and Erie County Executive
Samuel A. Davenport , U.S. Congressman
Daniel Dobbins , builder of the U.S. naval fleet for
Battle of Lake Erie
Thomas B. Hagen , Chairman of Erie Insurance
William Himrod ,
iron industry pioneer and
abolitionist
Warren Kitzmiller , Vermont state legislator
Michael Liebel, Jr. ,
Mayor of Erie 1906–1911;
Democratic member of the
United States House of Representatives from
Pennsylvania 1915–1917
Reinhard Liebel , President of South Erie Iron Works; member of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Common Council and Select Council of Erie
Harry Markopolos , blew whistle in
Madoff
securities fraud
Louis Marx , toy maker and founder of
Louis Marx and Company ; established first factories in Erie and was a part-time resident
Norman Morrison , Vietnam protester who
self-immolated
Joseph D. Pistone , aka
Donnie Brasco , FBI agent who infiltrated
Bonanno crime family
Adena Miller Rich , suffragist, social worker in Chicago, director of Immigrants' Protective League
Tom Ridge , Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security , Governor of Pennsylvania, and U.S. Congressman
James Patrick Rossiter , lawyer and politician
William Lawrence Scott , 19th-century politician and wealthy businessman
Milton Shreve , U.S. Congressman
Thomas Sill , U.S. Congressman
Film, stage, and television
Nick Adams , Broadway actor
Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 , drag performer and recording artist
Billy Blanks , inventor of
Taebo and martial arts film actor
Marc Blucas , actor
Marilyn Burns , actress, known for role as Sally in 1974 movie
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Bob Chitester , public television and documentary film producer, known as "...the man who made
Milton Friedman a star..."
[2]
Ann B. Davis , actress, known for role as Alice on TV's
Brady Bunch
Dorothy Dietrich , magician and escapologist
Kurt Doss , child actor
Christine Estabrook , television and film actress
Ish Kabibble , comedian and actor
Harry Kellar , magician
Tina LeBlanc , ballet dancer, teacher and ballet master
Emily Matson , journalist
Julianna McCarthy , original cast member of
The Young and the Restless
Dan Rice , 19th century entertainer and clown
Maria Sansone , television host of
Good Day LA
Steve Scully , host, political editor, and senior producer of
C-SPAN 's
Washington Journal
Jonathan Stark , actor and screenwriter
Denman Thompson , playwright and actor
Kay Williams , actress
Walker Scobell , actor
John Boyd , fighter pilot and military strategist who developed the
OODA Loop and helped with the success of the
Persian Gulf War
Paul K. Carlton ,
general
United States Air Force ; commander in chief of the
Military Airlift Command
Philip Cochran ,
colonel
United States Army Air Corps ; commander of the
1st Air Commando Group in
World War II ; inspiration for the characters of "Flip Corkin" and "General Philerie" in comic strips by
Milton Caniff
Charles A. Curtze ,
rear admiral
United States Navy
Richard E. Ellsworth , U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
Charles Vernon Gridley , U.S. Navy Commander, Captain,
U.S.S. Olympia ,
Battle of Manila Bay ; adopted Erie as his home after taking command of the
USS Michigan there
Louis J. Magill ,
Spanish–American War veteran; recipient of the
Marine Corps Brevet Medal
Seth Reed , Lt. Colonel, fought at
Bunker Hill ; instrumental in adding "
E Pluribus Unum " to U.S. coins; founded
Erie , as its first settler with his family, in 1795, at Presque Isle
Strong Vincent ,
Union brigadier general; killed at Gettysburg; Harvard graduate; practiced law in Erie from Waterford, Erie County
Anthony Wayne ,
American Revolutionary War general
Paul J. Weitz , U.S. Naval aviator; NASA astronaut; Skylab 2 pilot; STS-6 (Shuttle Challenger) Commander
William Maxwell Wood , first Surgeon General of the US Navy
Alan Baer , tuba,
New York Philharmonic
Harry Burleigh ,
classical music composer
Walter Hendl , conductor, composer and pianist
Peter Mennin ,
composer and teacher
Patrick Monahan , lead singer of
Train ; solo artist; Grammy Award winner
Chris Vrenna , drummer of rock band
Nine Inch Nails
Jack Stauber , Solo Musician and Songwriter
War of Ages , Christian metal band
Science, medicine, and academia
Richard Beals , Yale professor and author of several mathematical textbooks
David Dausey , professor, author and epidemiologist
Millicent Goldschmidt , microbiologist, professor emerita at
University of Texas
John Kanzius , inventor; radio and TV engineer and executive
Tara Keck , professor at
University College London , published numerous scholarly articles on
neuroplasticity
Artemas Martin ,
mathematician , published numerous scholarly articles on
diophantine analysis
Paul Siple ,
Antarctic explorer who developed the
wind chill factor